How Norwich City turned £2.5m Coventry City swoop into huge transfer fee | OneFootball

Arriving from Coventry City for £2.5 million in 2016, James Maddison went on to bring in big money for Norwich while becoming a Premier League star.

Norwich City has been an excellent destination for talent looking to platform themselves in recent history, and one of their undoubted best is Tottenham and England man James Maddison.

The creative midfielder began his professional career with boyhood club Coventry City in 2014, before making the switch to Carrow Road in 2016.

Just one full season later, the Canaries were able to bring in a reported £20 million fee for the then-21-year-old midfielder as he took the upward step towards the Premier League with Leicester City.

James Maddison proved a bargain buy for the Canaries

Making the move to Norwich from Coventry for a reported £2.5 million fee in January 2016, Maddison was immediately loaned back to the Sky Blues before a loan spell with Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen for the first half of the 2016/17 season.

After scoring four goals and registering 10 assists in Scotland and in the Championship, Maddison would be thrust into the Norwich starting XI for the 2017/18 term.

Starting 42 matches in total, the young midfielder thrived as the central cog in an underperforming Norwich side that went on to finish 14th.

Maddison netted 14 Championship goals that term and created eight. His eye for a pass, quick feet, and immense set-piece abilities shone in what was an all-round disappointing campaign otherwise for Daniel Farke's men.

Picking up Player of the Season for Norwich, he was also included in the EFL and PFA Championship Teams of the Season, and was nominated for EFL Young Player of the Season.

Seemingly a cut above in the Championship, Norwich would go on to make big money on the midfielder who they had signed just two years prior.

Big money for Norwich - Top-flight stardom for Maddison

In the summer of 2018, it would be Leicester City that secured the signature of the youngster, with the Foxes spending £20 million as they searched for a new talisman following Riyad Mahrez's move to Manchester City.

He made an immediate impact in the team, scoring in a 2-0 win against newly promoted Wolves in just his second league game, earning Leicester's first victory of the campaign.

The playmaker contributed a total of seven goals and seven assists in his first top-flight campaign as Leicester went on to finish ninth under Brendan Rodgers.

And he continued to go from strength to strength under Rogers, with Maddison flourishing as the Foxes finished in fifth place in successive Premier League seasons.

Competing in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Maddison would leave Leicester at the end of the 2022/23 campaign following the club's shock relegation from the top flight.

Making the switch to Tottenham in the summer of 2023 for a £40 million fee, Maddison has since played a big part in the club's return to the Champions League as a result of their Europa League triumph, with the midfielder scoring three and assisting three on the way to the final in Bilbao.

£2.5 bargain swoop made everything happen

With Maddison now an established player at the top level of English football, it is easy to forget that he was once part of a bargain deal between Norwich and Coventry.

For just £2.5 million, the Canaries saw Maddison at his brilliant best in the Championship. 14 goals and eight assists saw the playmaker explode at Carrow Road, earning himself a well-deserved Premier League move.

Working out for all parties involved, Maddison went on to become a Premier League star, while Norwich themselves were able to achieve promotion just a season on from his departure. And most importantly for Norwich, they were able to bring in a hefty £20 million fee for a player purchased for pennies in comparison.